Dance or Die {~Willow~}

[Nina Levitra]

Nina smiled carefully, admiring her lipstick and checking her teeth and making sure there was nothing in them as she brushed her hair, counting the strokes.

"Twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty..." Nina counted, looking in the mirror. "Wow, I'd forgotten how much fun it was to act like some vapid eighties teen. I should never forget again." She grinned earnestly this time, bobbing her head twice to make sure her hair would bounce. "I hope Willow at least gives a little effort... She so pretty when she tries, with those cheekbones... Elegant. Exotic." There were faint murmurs from her cousin and Nina adjusted her bra, making sure all of the lace was facing the right direction on the strapless work of art. "Maybe if I..."

She thought for a moment before scrunching up her face and sticking out her tongue, watching her hair shorten and darken, recreating Willow's hairstyle. On Willow, it was edgy and perfect, but for Nina it just made her head look a bit awkward, far too serious for her tastes. Not her style at all.

"Okay, awful plan was awful." Nina said, shaking her head until her normal hair color and length returned, just as bouncy as it had been. "Oh yes, entirely much better. Now, just add some perfect glitz..." Nina hopped up quickly and dug through her drawer a bit more energetically than was needed, throwing tops into the air. "Lucky! I didn't lose you!" She withdrew her Supergirl tube top, a shirt that never failed to draw attention. From boys. Because that was why she went clubbing. To get drunk and to get guys to notice that she was silly and weird and drunk and hot. And that she had her bellybutton pierced.

But that wasn't even what was so exciting about tonight. Nina pulled on her hot jeans, a pair of fitted bell-bottoms that she had bedazzled herself and found that she really was getting into this. She had finally talked Willow into coming to the club with her, under the promise that she would remain human the entire time. As if she would transform into a black giraffe in the middle of a crowded club more than twice. Puh-lease.

"'Kay Joel, I'm gonna leave now, leave the door unlocked in case I get too wasted to find my keys again please." Nina said, grabbing her faux-fur longcoat. It was hot in more than one definition of the word, and as Nina very quickly lined her eyes with a smudge of kohl, she couldn't help but think of Willow and giggle. "I'm already acting drunk what is up with me tonight?"

Grabbing her clutch and dashing out of the door, Nina rawred softly and clawed at the air, strutting very purposefully down the street. Willow had promised she would meet her at the club, and as Nina hopped into her cherry red pumps, ignoring the cold on her feet, she checked her mirror. Teeth still looked good. She was ready to rock.

[Willow Kovacs]

This... was a terrible idea.

Willow gave a short scowl into the mirror she was currently observing herself in. It was drawing later into the evening, and she had already promised her only acquaintance that she would show up at a club that evening. She knew the place - having passed by it many times, but had never before felt the urge to go in. Apparently Nina was a regular. Not much of a surprise, the girl seemed like a bit of a bar-hopper, where Willow preferred to drink alone in the confines of her home. Apparently that was out of the ordinary for women of her age. Go figure.

Adjusting the gold leaf necklace around her thin neck, she tilted her head back and studied herself in the mirror. Plum lipstick was dark on her lips, accenting the colours of the outfit she wore. Blinking momentarily, she let out a sigh of defeat and hung her shoulders - Willow was socially awkward, and large groups of drunken adults just really didn't sound that appealing to her. But a promise was a promise, after all. Though she really didn't know how the redhead had convinced her to come along this evening at all, even with the promise of no transformations. Which worried her a bit to think that perhaps she had done that before...

Shaking her head, the thoughts loosened and disintegrated. Smoothing her hands down the olive green dress, she checked her reflection again before grabbing the blue clutch and slinging a brown jacket around her shoulders.

The evening air was biting against her tight-clad legs, the flats making little clicking noises as she walked easily toward the direction of the inner town. This would be fun, definitely. She would go out and have a good time with the only person she could consider a friend, possibly meet some new people... These thoughts weren't very convincing in her head, but she was trying to stay optimistic, dammit.

Willow spotted her friend approaching from the other side of the street, and her eyebrows shot up in a matter of seconds. Observing her odd choice of clothing, the raven resisted the urge to smack her forehead. "Oh dear god, Nina." She said incredulously. "What... are you wearing?" Her voice was biting as the girl came into earshot of her words. The look of disdain was not foreign on her features as she looked up-and-down the outfit again.

---

Outfit.

[Nina Levitra]

Nina continued her confident strut until she spotted Willow, waiting just outside. She looked cute, and though Nina would have dressed her a bit brighter, Willow was looking classy, if not maybe a bit uptight. A few drinks in her system and Willow would be right as rain. Or so Nina liked to think.

"Don't you just love my outfit?" Nina asked, knowing Willow would probably have more conservative views on her choice of clothing. "My bellybutton piercing is twice as shiny as usual and and I am looking Superhot. You know I'm cute and you're just jealous that my tummy's glittery and you don't like gigantic needles." She strutted up towards Willow and hooked her arm, pulling her into the club's double doors.

"Jimmy!" Nina exclaimed, fishing her ID out as she put at friendly hand on the bouncer's bicep. They were quite good friends by this time, and he had even driven her home before. "Jimmy, this is my absolutely amazing friend Willow, Willow, Jimmy, flash some ID or something, come on!" Jimmy gave her the nod and she dragged Willow inside, liking the feeling of her new shoes. They were still soft inside and the red was a perfect shiny as she slid up to the bar.

"C'mon Willow you hottie, loosen up!" Nina exclaimed, stilling down in one of the excellently spinny stools. "Yoo-hoo, Aaron you sexy man, can you hook me up?" She new the bartender as well, and he was a bit of a cutie, so she always flirted and tipped, occasionally getting a free drink for looking cute. It was a great relationship. "Two Tom Collins' please, if you have the time." She grinned, breathing in the smell of the club.

It smelled like sweat and cheap perfume, like Old Spice and passion and electricity, and as the music boomed through the floor and vibrated through her elbows, Nina could feel it. She wanted two drinks and then she wanted to dance until men started buying them for her. This was her scene, and even as a human, she thought she could fly, just a little.

She could also feel Willow's lack of fun. She didn't want to go out and have a great time without her best friend, not after she had gotten her all the way out here... So the plan. The plan was to get Willow drunk and then instruct her in the finer points of club dancing. Or maybe just get Willow drunk, that could be fun too.

"This is going to be fun Willow, I promise." Nina said, taking her friend's hand. "The two of us are going to have a great time."

[Willow Kovacs]

The woman could only raise her eyebrows skeptically at the redhead as she said her piece in a blur. Hot, wasn't quite the word that Willow would use to describe her companion at that moment. Perhaps more... indecent, or something along those lines. Exposing one's mid drift had never quite appealed to the woman outside the gym or perhaps the beach. But even then her wardrobe was considered tasteful, keeping all essentials covered, with little need to make herself look stand-outish with an outrageously sparkly outfit. Nina, apparently, had other ideas. The tube top squeezed her curves tightly, the jeans also hugging to her like a second skin. Willow agreed with her on one thing - the belly button ring did look quite... shiny. "Gigantic needles, quite." She drawled unenthusiastically. Honestly she didn't mind the things, but again she saw no point in the excess of piercings. Two in each ear were just fine for whatever accessory she was sporting that day.

The recruiter barely had time to flash the burly looking man her driver's license before her enthusiastic counter part grabbed her and whisked her directly to the bar. Twisting skillfully between the tightly knitted bodies, they weaved directly up to the drink server and Nina ordered for the both of them. Willow hadn't the slightest idea what a Tom Collins was, but hell, any alcohol by this point wouldn't hurt. Calculating in her head, the raven realised that probably the only way she would survive this evening with the eccentric chicken was to be very intoxicated. Receiving the drink, her arched eyebrows drew up momentarily to inspect the drink before taking a tentative sip. Well this had quite a large percent of alcohol in it, and the tanginess of the pineapple was actually kind of refreshing. Shrugging, she took a long sip of the drink - it would take a lot more than this to get her drunk, but hell, Nina could try if she wanted.

Glancing over to her companion, she raised and eyebrow at her as she scanned the crowd eagerly. "Oh no," Willow said, eyes widening slightly, "You are not getting me to dance. It's bad enough you dragged me here, but this music is atrocious. Don't even think about it." Her voice was pointed and stern, accompanied by a fierce look of determination that would... probably go ignored. She took another sip of the Tom Collins, hoping it would bring intoxication soon.

[Nina Levitra]

Oh yay oh yay oh yay Willow was trying the scary face, that meant she had a chance! Nina knew that when Willow made her voice sharp and gave what she thought was a death glare, that meant that she was trying to discourage Nina entirely. And if Willow wanted to discourage Nina, that meant Willow thought that Nina had a chance at persuading her. And if Nina had a chance at persuading her, that meant that half the battle was already won. After all, thinking is half the battle, the other half being getting as much alcohol as possible into everyone's system. Especially her own.

Nina took a swig - meaning she swallowed half in one gulp - of her drink, liking the feeling of warmth slide down her esophagus. She knew it was just the alcohol being absorbed into her bloodstream, but Nina liked to think it was a little boost of happiness, maybe of courage, mostly of gumption. Hey, gumption sounded like a totally boss idea... Nina quickly finished her drink, grinning wildly. Hell, she wasn't even drinking yet. Still, Nina focused on the skin at the very base of her hairline, thinking about how to get Willow to lose her silly inhibitions.

"Mark my words Willow, you're gonna dance." Nina said, looking at her glass fondly and nibbling at the pineapple. "Aaaaand you're going to like it... You just need to loosen up a little, get that free spirit in you." Then, a brilliant thought. "Just do what you think I would do, it'll be great." Wait, that would probably only dissuade her...

Scrunching up her nose, Nina instead tried to listen to the music. It was a deep, reverberating beat that felt like it was shaking her soul, and even at her bar stool, Nina felt the urge to dance. She started to sway very slightly, moving her shoulders up and down to the beat. It was intoxicating, why on earth wasn't Willow music drunk yet? This was almost as good as whiskey, just a throbbing atmosphere where everyone wanted what she wanted. And Nina just wanted that feeling of fun. Oh wait, she'd been thinking about whiskey!

"Hey Aaron, a shot of whiskey over here please, keep the tab running!" The whiskey was quickly pushed her way and Nina downed it, watching Willow. "Perfect, that was two." Now, it was time to hit the floor, but not without her best friend in tow. This would be not fun if Willow was gonna be a loner at the bar, especially a sober loner. Plus, grinding was tons more fun when you knew the person... She would try that later, after Willow was a tad bit drunker. "No excuses Will-o'the-Wisp, we're dancing, now." Putting her shot glass down rather solidly, Nina grabbed Willow's arm once more and dragged her onto the floor. "Remember, we're having fun!"

The music hit her, almost like a physical force, and Nina smiled, loosening the muscles in her shoulders, then back. The music would guide her through the moves, and then... Well after then, that wasn't important yet. Right now, it was fun happy Willow, to be followed by fun happy boys time. And more drinks. There would be way more drinking. All in the name of fun.

[Willow Kovacs]

The taste of alcohol was sharp and refreshing against her throat, the subtle hint of exotic fruit helping the tequila go down smoother. The raven could only raise her eyebrows as her companion downed the Tom Collin's in a few seconds, with a short shiver and a refreshed sigh. "Oh she's gonna be pissed by the end of tonight," her thoughts echo'd easily in her head, bouncing back and forth and wavering in the loud music that pounded ruthlessly in the club. Another sip of the drink, eyes shifting to look around the room. Young adults, mostly intoxicated, were dancing and socializing. People screamed, screeched in laughter and sang along with horrendous music. Willow whipped back around to lean on the bar, promptly ignoring the redhead's definite claim that she would dance by the end of the night. She scoffed, "Free spirit? Hardly, Nina." Her voice was even, even though she could feel the alcohol. She wasn't drunk, nor would she be until she got another couple of drinks. But the undeniable rising of her blood alcohol level was invigorating. Yet still not enough to get her on the dance floor.

She downed the last sip of the cocktail, blinking momentarily at the sharp taste and watching in slight amusement as the shape shifter threw back a shot of whiskey. She was good. "You do have to walk home tonight," The raven reminded carefully, "You're not crashing at my place." She remembered the last time the drunken redhead had ended up at the door of her apartment, much to her chagrin.

Her warning went unheard as she was suddenly jerked from the bar stool, and dragged into the middle of the floor. Willow protested, but when she finally wrenched her arm from Nina's death hold, she was already in the middle of pushing, shoving, dancing bodies. The raven grimaced, immediately drawing into herself, wrapping her arms around her thin waist as if to protect herself from the grinding bodies. "Ew," She said, shooting Nina a harsh look. "No." Shaking her head as if to reinforce her point, she went to return to the bar and promptly sulk for the rest of the godforsaken evening. Well, that was until a half-stumbling man of his mid-twenties grabbed her, and swung her widely as if trying to dance with her. Willow let out a gasp of surprise, desperately trying to back away from the strange man with beer on his breath. "Nina," She hissed uneasily, eyes showing distaste.

[Nina Levitra]

"You have a free spirit in you." Nina said, trying to get Willow to understand. Everyone wanted to have fun, everyone liked being happy and Willow was just being stubborn about it. "You probably just need to get drunker. Its easier to be fun when you're a little out of your head..." She spun on the stool, just a little. "Inside of every girl, there's a happy drunk. True story." She nodded energetically and smiled widely, trying to convey that yes, she was right and Willow should really be listening to her because she was talking about fun and drinking. Willow sounded so serious, and stiff. She needed to loosen up, undulate a little. Maybe if Willow practiced being a jellyfish, she would look more fun and not so robotic.

And Willow's comment about walking home... "Don't be silly, I know I'm walking home tonight, Joel left the door unlocked for me." Nina grinned, tilting her head to the side as the whiskey worked its magic. Most of it was just in her head, but the alcohol in her system would start working very soon. "Though maybe you can get drunk and I can find your house. I'm really good at finding other people's houses while like 78% wasted. Excellent skill full of real life applications." Nina nodded gravely, hoping her hair was bouncing.

On the dance floor, Nina was content. Her head felt happy and she was acting much more drunk than she really was. It was time to move, to breathe rhythms and to hang out with her best friend who was- Well, who was being spun around by a kinda drunk kinda sketchy looking guy. Willow didn't look happy, not normal Willow frowny face but distinct Willow do-not-want. Not acceptable. Nina was the only person allowed to make Willow grumpy, and that guy did not look half as friendly - or awesome and attractive - as Nina. She walked over, tapping on his shoulder.

"Hi, 'scuse me. My friend." Nina said, slipping and grabbing Willow's hand. The guy smelled gross and Nina pushed her free hand against his chest just to distract him as she ducked and wove her way to a different section, much closer to the disco ball. "Okay Willow, you have to be on creeper alert. Guys and really sketchy girls pop up outta nowhere around here... Here, just hold my hand, guys will assume were dating and not bother too much." Nina smiled flashily, hoping Willow would just kind of go with the plan. "Now come on, look like you're having fun!" With a grin and a headspin, Nina heard the song change and let herself adjust to the beat, bringing Willow's hand up and down in time with the music, chanting. "C'mon, dance dance dance dance!"

[Willow Kovacs]

The woman's wide, chocolate brown eyes bugged out - "Dating?" She practically screeched, a look of bewilderment settling on her face. "Why on earth would anyone assume we were dating?" It was a bit of a weird statement for the woman, especially because she didn't date. It was found to be a waste of time and money, and particularly stressful on the already fragile mental states of many young adults. Willow could only watch as the redhead tried in vane to get her to dance moronically like she was. Giving her a weird look, she shook her head an eventually wrenched her hand away. "I need a drink," She said flatly, with obvious annoyance in her creased brow.

Turning quickly, maneuvering with agile accuracy, she twisted through the crowd and toward the bar. She tried to avoid the sweating, disgusting bodies of many intoxicated adults - which she thought was strange, considering there weren't really that many people in this town. Hammel had chosen a small, nearly remote place to which the students would feel safe, but not isolated. Shivering as a slick hand slid past her arm, Willow broke away from the crowd and sat heavily at the bar, giving the bartender a short look until he nervously approached her. "White Russian," She said curtly, expectantly. Rubbing her head, willing away a coming headache, she let out an exasperated sigh.

She had no idea why she had come - Willow wasn't social. She didn't even like people. The only reason Nina still talked to her is because she's positively bonkers. Everyone else has a tendency to avoid her, and the raven didn't mind. It meant more peace. More time to learn things. More... aloneness. When the drink appeared in front of her, she downed it in one gulp. The ice clanked noisily at the bottom of the glass, which was drowned by the obnoxiously loud, horrible music playing only yards away. "Nina, this isn't my scene." She said quietly, staring down at the glass intensely, mouth contorting into an ugly frown.

[Nina Levitra]

Willow's outburst was a little louder than was really needed, but Nina wasn't too phased. Willow was super touchy about things, and dating was one of them and Nina had just forgotten. Oops. But really, she didn't have to yell about it. Willow just needed to chill, and when she broke away, Nina couldn't help but pout a little. Willow was supposed to be having fun, not to be yelling or frustrated. Things were a lot more fun if people were having fun, especially if those people were Willow. Because that was the point at this point.

"Willow, come back!" Nina called, waving a hand and following Willow in her quest for a drink. "No, Willow, come oooon." She bumped into people, feeling a little bad and a little slow, ignoring the music. By the time she got to Willow, however, she was already drinking and frowning.

This was not the normal 'Nina shut up, you talk too much and hurt my brain' frown, or the 'You're an idiot now go away frown', or even the 'No, just no. No just no forever' frown. This was the very selective frown that Willow only used when she was trying to scare people away because she didn't think she could trust them. Willow didn't make that face very often, normally because she was too busy glaring at people, or near growling. If she was making that scary of a face, then Nina really owed it to her to get her face back to a nice, normal scowl that meant that she was a-okay.

"Oh Willy Wonka, why didn't you just kick me in the head and get this over with?" Nina asked quietly, poking Willow's shoulder. "Don't let me drag you around so much, I know I'm overwhelming and pushy, you're allowed to tell me that." Nina looked her friend up and down, smiling and just barely showing her teeth. "Hey, you look pretty and I'm not drunk yet so I still know where my house is. You can come home with me and I can take pictures 'cause you'd make a super gorgeous model right now and we can have sandwiches and drink Kool-aid like small children." Nina held out her hand, hoping Willow could still be willing to do stuff with her in the name of friendship. "Whadda you say? Willow Nina fun time, round two?"

[Willow Kovacs]

As much as Willow wouldn't ever admit it, the more that Nina talked, the more she felt the tension leave her shoulders. Sure, the neurotic redhead was the source of many of her headaches, but sometimes she was... sweet. And actually did understand when the raven was not having a good time to the point where she would very much like to crawl into a hole and just die. Which was kind of right now - covered in other people's sweat with a headache from the tasteless music. Only the hint of a grin pulled at the woman's plum coloured lips as she turned to her companion and said, "Don't call me Willy."

Neither of them were anywhere close to drunk yet - it took a few more drinks than that to get the reptile stumbling over herself and sociable. Actually, it took near-coma drunkenness to make her sociable. Which had only been witnessed once while in college, after a horrendously stressful week and a dorm party she decided so stupidly to attend. It was the first time she had ever felt that lost or confused - the next morning, waking up with a hangover, and in bed with not only one other naked person, but two. She almost outwardly shivered at the memory.

Hoping off the stool, fetching their coats, the women left the drunken scene with a sense of release. The biting cool air of the mountain spring evening was refreshing against her heated body as they made the short walk toward Nina and her cousin's apartment. Willow had only been there twice, mainly to pick up the woman from something or take her somewhere.

"Are we honestly going to drink Kool-Aid and take pictures?" She asked incredulously, a look of 'seriously?' on her angled features. It wouldn't surprise her. The shape shifter was insane enough to do something like that. "Aren't we going to disturb Joel?" The poor man, had to live with Nina.

[Nina Levitra]

Willow was making a happy face that meant Nina had won! She had gotten Willow to not only get away from the scary frown but all the way to the other end of the spectrum, the first hints of a smile. This was completely a victory because Willow did. Not. Smile. But she was so close, this had absolutely been the right course of action. Nina smiled widely and mentally awarded herself ten points, putting her daily success total at a positive seven and three tenths. And as for the nickname... "Whatever you say Willow-Willow..."

Jumping up, Nina almost flew to her coat, pulling it on tightly as she and Willow got outside, waving to Jimmy and reminding herself to pay her tab off before the end of the week. It was refreshingly cold outside and as Nina's ears rang, she took a deep breath of the heavy air that floated all around her. It wasn't far to her house and even though it was certainly cool, Nina felt a rush of warm excitement.

"We only Kool-aid and photograph if you want to." Nina said calmly, trying to resist the urge to skip. "Though I have been dying to get you to model for me. You look so perfect, I bet I could get you in some of the lights and you would have the best shadows." It wasn't flattery; Nina Levitra flattered no one, not even herself. She was simply saying exactly what she thought about her best friend, even if it did sound a bit sycophantic. "If not, we can watch TV or look for things on YouTube or have a marathon of movies starring Chad Michael Murray and Channing Tatum while we paint our toenails..." Nina flipped her head to the side, checking the bounce of her hair. Still there. Still bouncy.

"And don't worry about Joel." Nina said, a little bit softer. "He's slightly alarmed by me when I burst into laughter, but he knows his little cousin's a bit of a crazy freak. He doesn't expect much more from me than to show up tonight and climb though the window before curling up under the rug and sleeping until noon." That had actually been a pretty good rest until Joel had tripped over her. "He won't be asleep until about two, and he'll probably be happy that I appear sober and have you around to keep me subdued." When she did think about it, Nina sometimes felt bad about inflicting herself on her unsuspecting cousin.

"C'mon, the lights are still on!" Nina exclaimed as she spotted her house, grabbing Willow's hand tightly in hers and interlocking their fingers. Her hands were cold, and Nina wanted someone to bring along, like a kindergartner pulling her best friend out to the playground. Except the playground was her house and there were no monkey bars to fall off of with rusty hands. "Joel will love you, I'm sure. You're really really manageable compared to me!"

[Willow Kovacs]

Willow nearly let out an exasperated titter as the woman suggested activities for the evening. But instead, she just gave the redhead a strange look and continued walking. "Channing Tatum? Chad Michael Murray?" The names tasted unfamiliar on her tongue - she rarely watched movies, and when she did they were usually educational, or something her mother made her watch when she visited. And those were primarily 80's Romance flicks that made her feel caught between nausea and going, "Aww." by the end of them. "And I don't paint my nails... It gets in the way of things... Like cooking, and functioning regularly." The raven wasn't aware that that sentence could have been seen as comical. It was true, she hated nail polish. It confused her as to why someone would want to put that array of chemicals on the ends of their fingers, when the appendages are so important.

The compliment caught Willow by surprise - very rarely are her looks commented on, and she only ever received acknowledgements toward her IQ rather than her appearance. Arched eyebrows shot up her forehead, turning to Nina, slowing her steps as they approached her home. "Uhm..." Glancing down, brown eyes shifting over the ground momentarily. "Okay... You can take pictures of me." Her voice was tentative - unsure. The tone she only used when someone referred to something she didn't know about. Which was very little; generally Willow knew the basics of most any generally discussed topics.

Entering the house, Willow almost immediately removed her jacket. It was toasty, and smelled distinctly like smoke. She looked around cautiously - she had never actually stepped foot in the house before. Occasionally she'd come to the door, for whatever reason, but always refused the invitation in. "Is he burning something?" She glanced back at the redhead, eyebrows creased. "It's rather warm, isn't it?" It was, even for the cold blooded reptilian, it was warm.

[Nina Levitra]

Nina smiled, giggling when Willow seemed to miss the concept of teenaged chick flicks. Had Willow just somehow managed to avoid every slumber party throughout all of her teen years, not to mention casual friends, a lack of anything on television, movie poster and teen magazines? For Willow, probably, and on purpose too. Willow had always been so eager to be grown up, to play adult while she could and Nina had no idea why. Being serious and scowling that much was tiring and boring and generally blah. If only Willow had a little more fun! Which had been the point of club night, but that plan was over now.

"Oh poof, you don't even paint your nails for fun?" Nina asked, pouting a little. "C'mon, a little sparkle doesn't cease all function... Unless you're a robot that malfunctions when you come in contact with nail polish, only you can't be, because we're already weird enough. Any more robotic weirdness wouldn't make any sense." In Nina's mind, everything she had just mentioned made perfect sense. As for any stragglers or squirrels or Willow's that might have been listening, confusion was to be expected of her. It was one of the many perks of being within ten feet of her.

"Yay, picture picture pictures!" Nina sang, clapping her hands together lightly. "Its great, you look all mysterious and color-correct tonight, I can try that bulb I'm not supposed to use because I caught that blanket a little on fire that one time but now its safe I promise." Her mind swirled as she spun through the door, laughing softly and feeling lighter than air. Except not quite, because she wasn't flying or anything and also, as a person, she had to be heavier than air or she would just float away...

Nina took a deep breath, trying to identify the wood that was calming her and lulling her towards a near-tolerable level whilst indoors. "Smells pine, something with violently exploding sap." Nina said, tempted to sink into a chair and go to sleep for hours. Not very tempted, but the temptation was there. "Its always warm. I like it warm, Joel likes it warm, we're very warm people..." And then, a perfect idea. "Heeey Willow, wanna make milkshakes? We have bendy straws." Milk, after all, made everything a little more fun. But mostly ice cream. Yeah, it was all about the ice cream... Where had her train of thought bee?

[Willow Kovacs]

Willow gave the redhead an exasperated sort of look - she felt so old around her. Not for much of a reason, but mostly because Nina acted like such a kid even though she wasn't much younger than herself. She was enthusiastic and bouncy and acted like she was the most attractive thing in the room. Which, to be honest, wasn't that far fetched. The woman was definitely pretty, with a certain cuteness about herself that most men found desirable. Willow never possessed anything like that - sure, she could be considered attractive. But not in the sense that she was really all that dateable. People were usually intimidated by the woman's high up attitude and obvious intelligence, and it was a mystery that Nina even put up with the reptile.

"Please don't catch anything on fire," She urged, watching the woman fleet around the room with particular energy, tossing their jackets off somewhere and leading her into the kitchen. "Bendy straws?" She rose and eyebrow, studying her, "How old are you?" It came out as almost insulting, but not meaning to be. The milkshakes didn't sound like such a bad idea, with the temperature of the house being so warm, nearly humid, but Willow didn't like overly sweet things. Cake, ice cream, brownies, the likes. Which most people found baffling, but it didn't seem that off to herself. Things with too much sugar made her feel like her teeth were rotting from the inside out as she ate them. And that wasn't a very pleasant feeling. But, nevertheless, she nodded at the woman's request to make milkshakes, and went to studying the house.

Fairly normal sized, it was a nice little home for two people. Offhandedly, she wondered where Nina's cousin was, and how sane he was compared to his relative. And if the craziness ran in the family, because that would make more sense. Or maybe Nina was a black sheep, and everyone else was fairly calm and neutral. Come to think of it, Willow knew very little about her friend's family. Or why she lived here in the first place. "Uh... So, you wanted to take pictures? Why?" She questioned momentarily, leaning against the counter and studying the redhead.

[Nina Levitra]

Willow was giving Nina a I'm-sighing-in-my-head-because-you-are-stupid-and-I-am-tired look and Nina smiled, trying to energize her friend. She had the slight tendency to completely exhaust people by coming within a few feet of them, and Willow was no exception, but that was Willow. Nina liked Willow because it was a challenge to make her smile, and Nina loved challenges, especially ones like Willow. She tried to act like some kind of cold scary monster, like a T. Rex on ice, but deep down Willow was just her old friend, who Nina could always count on. Also, she had never shaved off her eyebrows or done anything too ridiculous, and Willow normally made sure Nina didn't do anything too dangerous in public. She was a good friend, and Nina, for all her cheer and fun, really only had one good reliable friend. Which was Willow, in case that was too hard to guess from the information provided.

"No worries, nothing will catch on fire this time." Nina promised, flashing what was supposed to be a reassuring smile over her shoulder. "I don't even have that oddly flammable blanket anymore." Joel had made her get rid of the blanket after the second time she accidentally let it blaze, and after the third time he had taken it and shredded the poor thing before throwing it away, which was unfair. Even with the burn marks, it was still a perfectly good blanket.

"I'm twenty-four!" Nina said proudly, knowing that Willow had been trying to insinuate that she was highly childish for wanting a milkshake with a bendy straw. That was okay. Nina greatly enjoyed being highly childish. "I can make yours with extra milk and a straw I stole from Subway if you don't want a kiddie shake." Which was the exact opposite of what Nina wanted, but this meant multiple blending sessions. And Nina did like getting to use the blender. "And if you're grumpy about not drinking, we can have alcoholic milkshakes. Those are fun." Nina pulled out the blender and plugged it in, poking at the shiny red bottoms for a moment before attaching that cup to the base.

"I wanted to take pictures because you're elegant and pretty and my friend, and taking pictures is fun." Nina said casually, opening the freezer and pulling out a carton of ice cream, then grabbing a scoop from the drawer. "Besides, don't you like having your picture taken?" She got out a rather large scoop of delicious sweet frozen dairy product and put it into the cup, getting another. "I mean, you have a model face, and you scowl enough to be a model. Oh, milk!" Nina got out the milk and added two splashes, with splashes being slightly larger than glubs, before putting the top on her blender and hitting the fifth button. "Blending blending blending, this is the blending song!" she sang, bobbing her head back and forth. "C'mon Willow, you know the words!"